Fragrant Rose Cake

Have you ever wondered what a rose tastes like? I have. Roses are one of my favorite smells, no matter how old-ladyish my husband thinks they smell. As for the taste, it is exquisite. And this fragrant rose cake is the perfect introduction.

Rose doesn’t taste quite how I imagined. It almost tastes like lemon poppyseed cake without the lemon. I can see how it would be overpowering, but the amount of rose in this cake is very delicate and subtle. I’m glad I tried it, and I’m looking forward to make another rose cake with this scrumptious recipe.

This cake recipe is special because it takes all of my very favorite delicate flavors (rose, vanilla, and honey) and combines them perfectly. You can still taste each flavor on its own, but together they make something very special.

You can make this cake in a normal cake pan (two 8″ inch round cake pans or one 9″x13″ dish), but I am just extra enough that I wanted to use the GORGEOUS rose-shaped cake pan that Cam got me for my birthday. You can buy your own here if you like. (It’s not an ad, I just really like this pan.)

As for the rose water, it’s important to buy food-grade rose water (since you’ll be ingesting it). I got my rose water on Amazon, and it’s lovely.

Ingredients

For the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cup good honey

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 teaspoons rose water

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature

For the simple syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon rose water (food grade)

Instructions

First, preheat the oven to 350 F, and grease your cake pan(s) with either butter or Crisco.

Next, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the vegetable oil and honey, and mix until well-combined. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in the vanilla and rose water.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently mix the flour mixture and buttermilk into the butter mixture until just combined.

Pour your cake batter into your chosen pan(s), and bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until the cake is done. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before taking it out.

While the cake is cooling, start making the simple syrup by mixing the water and sugar in a saucepan. Heat the ingredients until they dissolve. Stir in the rose water and remove the pan from the heat. Allow the simple syrup to steep until cool.

Remove the cake from its pan and being soaking it with your rose simple syrup until saturated, but not dripping. (I find either a pastry brush or a small spoon to be helpful.) Enjoy your fragrant rose cake!